Oh, the Distractions

By Wendy O. Dixon, Editor

I confess. I sometimes become easily distracted from my work since joining Facebook and Twitter. I suppose I don’t have to confess. You would be none the wiser.

But I will confess, because that’s what we do now that we have these types of social networks to use as our modes of expression. We confess everything, celebrate every football victory and gripe about the cable guy not showing up on time. We tag friends in photos, talk about what we’re eating for breakfast and invite people to join in a common political interest. We post cute puppy videos and comment on the latest episode of “Glee.” While it’s wonderful to stay connected with friends, family and colleagues via the Web, sometimes I feel like it’s a case of TMI.

One of my Facebook friends posted the “Whack-A-Kitty” video, which was so funny I watched it three times. Of course, when I clicked the link to the video from Facebook, it took me to YouTube, which led me to watch “Whack-A-Kitty Part 2,” and after that, “Kitten Coffee Cup,” which shows a teensy-weensy kitten peeking out of a coffee mug. Well, you know what I’m talking about. You do it too, right? One distraction leads to another and then another, and then what have you got? TMI.

I have a few friends who are Facebraggers. You know, the ones who use their Facebook status updates to tell everyone how awesome they are. Some examples from Facebook friends: “Stephanie (some names have been changed to protect the braggarts) ran five miles on Tuesday at 5:45 a.m. with a pace of 7 minutes 13 seconds per mile.” Now really, who wants to hear about Stephanie’s crack-of-dawn, seven-minute-mile pace?

That’s just showing off. Or this one: “Taylor is just chillin’, doing nothing. Maybe I’ll get a mani-pedi and a massage.” Must be nice.

As for Twitter, I’m a novice and am trying to figure out a way to work it into my personal communication routine. Frankly, I don’t always want to tell the world what I’m doing. And I’m not that interested in what others are doing every minute of the day, either. I see the value of it for social networking and for letting our readers know what’s coming up in the next issue of Bay Life, so you’ll be reading more of our tweets soon enough.

I’m sure you are already a fan of Bay Life Magazine on Facebook and a follower on Twitter. But just in case you’re not and you need one more distraction, check us out at facebook.com/baylife and twitter.com/baylifemag. We update both pages regularly and appreciate your feedback, comments, tweets, or whatever you call them.